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Underwater with the Leica X-U

The Leica X-U is built for the toughest conditions! Its shockproof, dust and water sealed design make it the perfect expedition camera but it’s equally at home at the beach, on a boat or even by the pool. While not designed to be a primary underwater camera, it is waterproof to depths of 15 meters. So….. I decided to take it down for a dive and see what it could do!

The X-U is made in Germany and continues Leica’s tradition of simple elegant designs. The aperture and shutter speed dials are fast and intuitive. The rubberized buttons and shutter release are easy to use even with dive gloves. It features a unique underwater mode that adapts white balance and distortion correction to underwater conditions. The integrated flash above the lens is a nice feature and works well but note, if you use this or any on camera flash underwater, you will probably get a fair amount of backscatter.

It comes equipped with 16 megapixels APS-C CMOS sensor and a fixed Summilux 23 mm f/1.7 lens. It delivers exceptional picture quality, even in low light and the Leica X-U can capture cinema quality video footage in full HD 1920 x 1080 at 30 frames per second. Overall this is exceptional adventure camera. It’s small and light for use in the pool or snorkeling and the fact that you can take it on a shallow dive and get good images only adds to its value.

Todd Winner is a contributor, instructor, and trip leader for Samy’s Underwater Photo & Video and has over 20 years of experience in underwater still and broadcast video. To see more of Todd’s work please go to www.toddwinner.com. For the latest information on workshops and trips, sign up for .our newsletter